The Dark Stranger Read Online Free

breath “... entering my life with violence ...”

 
    CHAPTER TWO
    I
    “ DO you realize you might have been killed, jumping out like that? What were you doing up there, anyway? ” he asked, still sounding very angry .
    Tina took a deep breath. The dark stranger appearing so quickly on the heels of the long journey had unnerved her.
    “ I—I ’ m terribly sorry, ” she said. “ I wanted to stop you and I didn ’ t know you were so close. I—I hope you haven ’ t damaged your car. ”
    “ Well, the paint will scarcely be improved, but we ’ ll let that go. I can think of more tactful ways of thumbing a lift if that ’ s what you want. ”
    “ I don ’ t know. I mean it depends which way you ’ re going. ”
    For a moment a flicker of amusement crossed his face. “ Don ’ t you know which way you ’ re going? ” he said.
    “ Not—at least I don ’ t know if i t’ s the right way. I’m trying to find a house called Tremawvan only I never seem to get to the Spanish Inn where I ’ m to ask. ”
    His expression altered.
    “ Tremawvan! You wouldn ’ t by any chance be the Linden girl, would you? ”
    Tina looked astonished.
    “ Yes—yes, I am. How did you know? ”
    “ But how on earth did you get here? You weren ’ t on the 8.25 to Merrynporth. ”
    She was too tired to think his question strange.
    “ I got off at the wrong stop—the names sounded so alike, ” she answered.
    “ Did you go to meet me, then? ”
    “ Naturally. What did you expect? ”
    He suddenly took her by the shoulder and turned her into the full glare of the headlights, scrutinizing her frowningly. The widely-spaced eyes looked up at him with startled clarity in the strong glare and the wind blew the hair back from her ears and forehead, exposing the delicate planes and structure of her face.
    “ H ’ m, ” he said abruptly. “ Not what I expected. ”
    Perhaps it was the red silk handkerchief knotted carelessly round his throat which heightened the likeness to a pirate, and she saw now that his eyes were a vivid, piercing blue against his dark skin.
    She stood patiently waiting for his scrutiny to end, and asked:
    “ Is Mr. Pentreath annoyed that I missed the train? ”
    His mouth twitched.
    “ Mr. Pentreath is much more annoyed at narrowly escaping being had up for manslaughter, ” he said and she stared at him.
    “ But—are you my stepmother ’ s Cousin Craig? ” she asked with disbelief.
    He smiled with a touch of malice.
    “ I ’ m your stepmother ’ s Cousin Craig who, I ’ m sure she has told you, is high-handed and ungenerous like all the Pentreaths. ”
    “ Oh! ” she said blankly, and he was surprised to see her flush. “ I—I think it ’ s most—generous of you to have me here as well as Belle, Mr. Pentreath. After all, she is a relation and I ’ m not . ”
    His eyebrows lifted.
    “ Gratitude so early? Wait till you know us all better, ” he remarked cryptically. “ That shouldn ’ t disconcert you, you know. I ’ m sure Belle must have prepared you for Tremawvan hospitality. ”
    “ It isn ’ t that, ” she tried to explain, puzzled by his manner. “ It ’ s just that I had imagined you quite different . You must be younger than Belle. ”
    The wind sent another gust between them and he stepped out of the beam of light.
    “ I think we ’ d do better to continue this conversation on the way home, ” he observed, opening the door of the car. “ You must be tired after all your adventures. Get in. ”
    He backed the car out of the ditch, cursing under his breath, then drove on up the road.
    “ Why did you allude to me as the dark stranger? ” he asked.
    “ Did I? ” she said sleepily. “ Well, a fortune teller told me I would go a long journey and a dark stranger would enter my life violently. It did seem like fate, didn ’ t it? ”
    He gave her a brief glance but did not laugh.
    “ Yes, I suppose it would, ” he remarked mildly.
    “ Are the statues still there? ” she